Review: The Mass of Money - Strategies from Art and Science on Capital and Inequality

Review of the workshop "The Mass of Money - Strategies from Art and Science on Capital and Inequality" (June 4-5, 2026)

What remains when money is seen not only as a means of payment but also as a social force? As part of the Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden 2026, the two-day workshop "The Mass of Money - Strategies from Art and Science on Capital and Inequality" brought together perspectives from art, science and society to renegotiate questions of wealth, power and inequality.

The starting point of the event is the artistic research project "The Mass of Money" by the internationally active artist duo Quadrature (Juliane Götz and Sebastian Neitsch), which uses artistic methods to investigate global financial flows, capital accumulation and social inequality and translates them into data-based and audiovisual formats. The focus was on the question of how the often abstract and invisible dynamics of capital can become visible, tangible and critically reflectable.

Lectures, workshops, performances and discussions addressed wealth distribution and regional inequalities in Germany and worldwide, the role of education in the increasing financialization of the economy and the social impact of financial markets and digital currencies. It became clear how closely economic, political and cultural issues are interwoven. At the same time, participatory formats opened up spaces for reflecting on one's own roles and privileges, for approaching future financial systems as well as the experimental use of data and the exchange of different experiences of capitalism and inequality. The result was a transdisciplinary space for thinking and working in which artistic practice and scientific analysis did not stand side by side, but rather challenged and complemented each other.

The workshop showed that questions of money, wealth and capital extend far beyond economic contexts. They shape social participation, political scope for action and individual life realities - and call for new forms of thinking, research and design.

Thanks to all contributors:
Juliane Götz and Sebastian Neitsch (Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden 2026; artist duo Quadrature), David Braun (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main), Felix Reith (University of Bonn), Franziska Deckstein and Leona Krause (Chair of Public Economics, University of Leipzig), Alexander Kemnitz (Professor of Economics, esp. Economic Policy and Economic Research, Dresden University of Applied Sciences), Anli Lukunku (Artist and Master Student, Dresden University of Fine Arts), Lars Hornuf, (Professor of Business Administration, esp. Finance and Financial Technology, Dresden University of Applied Sciences), Nelly Saibel (Schaufler Kolleg@TU Dresden), Norman Zidlicky, Synosys, TUD Dresden University of Technology) and Cläre Caspar, Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Department of Culture and Design.

The workshop was organized by Juliane Götz and Sebastian Neitsch (Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden 2026, Künstler:innenduo Quadrature) together with Nelly Saibel (Schaufler Kolleg@TU Dresden), David Braun (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main) and Felix Reith (University of Bonn) as well as Pauline Hohn, Gwendolin Kremer and Celina Wagenknecht (Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden).